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A5
news
Wednesday, January 15, 2014 www.guardian.co.tt Guardian
JENSEN LAVENDE
Homicide detectives say there is
no definite link between the mur-
der of state witness Ricaldo "Po-
Po Charlie" Sanchez and his being
a chief witness in a murder case.
In a telephone interview with the
T&T Guardian yesterday, head of
the Homicide Bureau ACP Wayne
Dick said the police are following
several leads and doing a thorough
investigation.
Dick said so far Sanchez s killing
did not appear to be linked to his
eyewitness testimony.
Sanchez, 51, was due to appear
in the Siparia Magistrates Court on
Monday to testify in the preliminary
inquiry into the murder of Kwasi
"President" Chakumba-Muraldo on
December 28, 2010. Fermin Carrabai
is charged with Chakumba-Mural-
do s murder.
Chakumba-Muraldo, the father
of four, was shot while waiting for
transport to a seismic survey site
in the forested area of Erin.
Relatives of Sanchez blamed the
State for failing him after he repeat-
edly complained of being threat-
ened. Relatives said Sanchez was
told to come to court on Monday
when his issue would be addressed.
Police sources said Sanchez
reported threats against his life but
when he was offered witness pro-
tection he refused.
Told of that, Dick said the police
had no way of compelling anyone
to be in the witness protection pro-
gramme, adding that some measure
of protection could be afforded but
not for 24 hours.
He added that the police were
interviewing civilians and police
alike in connection with reports
that Sanchez said he had been
threatened. He added other people
who were neither suspects nor per-
sons of interest have been inter-
viewed.
Sanchez, a part-time electrician
with Petrotrin, went missing around
10 pm on Saturday after leaving his
Los Charos, Palo Seco, home to play
music at Station 22 Bar at Los
Charos Junction. After the bar
closed, he went to a party next door.
On Sunday morning, when he
did not return home, his wife,
Mahalia Floyd, went in search of
him and found his jersey, shoes and
bicycle near the junction. A report
was made to the Santa Flora Police
who even got Petrotrin to empty a
pond during their search.
Around 7.45 am on Monday a
Petrotrin crew was on their way to
work when they found Sanchez s
body in the road near Skinner Trace
Extention, Siparia.
Police, led by Snr Supt Cyril
Harry and Insp Granger, found him
lying face-up with a gunshot wound
to the back of the head.
Murder of
State witness...
DEREK ACHONG
A 33-year-old security
guard was remanded into
custody after appearing in
court yesterday to answer
four criminal charges,
including abducting six-
year-old schoolgirl Keyianna
Noel in December last year.
Benjamin Yearwood, who
also works in a poultry depot,
was refused bail when he
appeared before Magistrate
Melvin Daniel in the Port-of-
Spain Magistrates Court.
The charges he is accused
of are:
• Taking and unlawfully
carrying away Noel against
her will on December 17.
• Escaping lawful custody
at the Port-of-Spain General
Hospital on Monday.
• Assaulting PC Kerry
McIntosh at the hospital.
• Stealing McIntosh s
handcuffs, the property of the
State.
He was not called upon to
plead to the first three charges
as they were laid indictably
but he pleaded not guilty to
stealing the handcuffs.
Keyianna was taken from
her apartment at Building 60,
Duncan Street, Port-of-Spain,
and was found a day later in
Aranguez.
He has addresses in Broome
Street, Aranguez; Lion Drive,
Carapichaima and Waterhole,
Cocorite.
Yearwood, who was being
treated at the hospital since
his arrest on January 2, was
brought to the St Vincent
Street, Port-of-Spain, court-
house around midday yester-
day.
He was due to appear
before Daniel when the court
resumed after its lunch break
at 1 pm. However, his appear-
ance was delayed after he and
several other prisoners were
trapped in a holding cell after
one of them tampered with
a lock.
Two hours later, fire officers
were summoned to the court
and within minutes they cut
open the bars of the cell with
a rotary saw and bolt cutters.
When he eventually made
his way to the courtroom, he
was surrounded by half a
dozen police officers who
watched his slightest move.
Yearwood, who wore a large
bandage on his right hand,
stood silent in the prisoner
enclosure of the court for the
duration of his appearance.
He spoke only to find out
how he would access his
medication which was pre-
scribed to him during his hos-
pital stay.
"In prison there is an infir-
mary and a doctor there who
will help you with that,"
Daniel said before adjourning
the case to February 11.
The charges were laid by
Cpl Anand Bissoon of the
Port-of-Spain CID. Sgt Stan-
ley Joseph prosecuted.
Police probing
other links
Guard in court charged with abducting girl
GEISHA KOWLESSAR
Senior police officers close to
the e-mail investigation yester-
day maintained they had made
contact with Google and had doc-
umentary evidence to prove that.
The comments came in wake
of claims that the police failed to
ask Google for assistance in the
probe.
The United States-based Inter-
net search giant Google said in its
latest transparency report, pub-
lished on its Web site, that local
police investigating the case had
failed to make any official request
from it for information on the
matter stemming from the Section
34 issue last year.
When contacted, one officer
said: "We did what we needed to
do, including asking Google for
assistance in this matter and we
have the evidence to prove this."
Google s claim also differed from
that of former deputy commis-
sioner of police Mervyn Richard-
son, who maintained last year that
he wrote to Google seeking infor-
mation from its databases on the
government officials implicated
in the scandal, including Prime
Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar
and several of her top government
colleagues.
Contacted yesterday, Richardson
said he had no comment.
Asked if he was aware whether
the police had made contact with
Google as part of their investiga-
tions, National Security Minister
Gary Griffith simply said: "No, he
was not aware."
In June 2013 Griffith handed
over his mobile phone and com-
puter hard drive voluntarily to
investigators.
To date they have not been
returned.
Griffith said yesterday: "From
the first ball on the opening day
I have been ready and willing to
clarify this matter. I personally
contacted the police and handed
over my electronic devices, as I
knew then, as I know now, that
I have never been involved... even
remotely close to the allegations."
Griffith said his concern had
always been that a precedent must
not be set that anyone could
anonymously drop documents in
a mailbox and "conveniently" not
be charged for wasting police time.
He added: "Such documents
are littered with blatant irregu-
larities in a feeble attempt to have
it perceived as e-mails and the
whole nation becomes affected,
based on the mischievous act of
a few.
"The bogus typewritten corre-
spondence also had me in different
time zones all over the world on
the same day."
Saying he was still prepared to
do what was right to reveal that
"the matter was bogus," he said:
"It is impossible to find evidence
of something that never took
place. It is incumbent especially
on the police commissioner to
make a statement."
PNM: Top cop, Griffith
must account
The PNM said the latest devel-
opment should be viewed with
urgency and called on acting Police
Commissioner Stephen Williams
and Griffith to make a statement
to the nation.
Speaking during a break in the
Senate yesterday, the PNM s public
relations officer, Senator Faris Al-
Rawi, said:
"If this latest development is in
fact true, then the Police Service
stands to be indicted for gross neg-
ligence if it does not have a very
reasonable explanation."
He said the Police Service not
only had the ability to directly
request information from Google
but could also call upon the assis-
tance of the Central Authority
through the proper channels.
"The PNM continues to maintain
that the Integrity Commission is
the proper authority to conduct
this investigation," Al-Rawi added.
Top cops in e-mail probe insist:
We spoke to Google
Benjamin Yearwood is escorted out of the Port-of-Spain Magistrates Court
yesterday. PHOTO: MARYANN AUGUSTE